Last week saw the start of one of the greatest Christmas traditions in the city, the Perth Panto! This year’s offering is the story of Sinbad, a young woman who has been off on many adventures and earnt her title as the greatest sailor that ever lived. However, this story takes place after Sinbad has given up this life and is back home in Perthepolis, living with her family on a houseboat. Meanwhile, across the sea on McJaggy Island, our Panto villain Vindicta is coming up with a wicked plan that will affect everyone’s peaceful life. That is, unless her step-daughter Greta can somehow save the day with the help of Sinbad, her mother Jackie Alltrades and her brother Finn Lad (provided he can pull his nose out of his book and listen properly!)
L-R Sinbad, Hector the Collector, Jackie Alltrades, Finn Lad
Written and directed by Barrie Hunter (who also plays the appropriately named dame) this panto is a hilarious and heart-warming story that ticks many of the traditional panto boxes and then some. The cast are a solid team of performers, the story isn’t too convoluted and the music choices are spot on.
The entire team are great at letting each other shine and supporting that, but definitely step up when it’s their turn – there’s no weak link or false moments. Then there’s the Tay Beavers, a brilliant group of six local child dancers who were central to the plot – sometimes in other shows it feels the children are just there for the musical numbers so it was good to see them as such a key part of the story. The story itself is very relevant for today’s world of climate change and wealth vs nature, which only adds to the fun.
Jackie read some of the other reviews…
Having read other reviewers giving this panto 4 out of 5 stars, I’ve sat here and wondered what more were they looking for? Did I laugh? A lot. Did I enjoy the story? Yes. Did I get up and sing along at the end? Couldn’t help myself. Have I been telling anyone I’ve spoken to that they need to go see it? Yup. Did I cringe at a contrived love story? Nope, there wasn’t one – Sinbad is looking for a pal, not a spouse. Were the music and lyrics brilliant? Absolutely
Maybe there just wasn’t enough pyros…
Vindicta and her servant, plotting no doubt
I can’t wait to go back to see this with my kids, this is definitely a 5 star panto (don’t you dare say it, it is) and you need to check it out before it’s behind you (sorry, I was doing so well to resist puns as well…)
Check out the trailer below, you may spot a familiar face!
Get more info and buy tickets for Sinbad at the Perth Theatre website